Interlude 1:  Reading Habits
by pbw
Summary: A short little piece of friendship that could quite possibly turn into something more.


An Interlude

It had been building for quite some time. _Whatever it was, _thought Erik. Since, he had been pulled out of the water by someone, for who all intents and purposes looked much too soft, too used to the good life, too posh. Erik, on the other hand, was efficient, dedicated and definitely from the wrong side of the tracks.

But there was something about Charles Xavier that enthralled the German: the way he stared at you intently with those too blue eyes; the way he set you at ease – even in the most ridiculous situations (Erik was never quite sure if he used his telepathy or not); or the way Charles just believed and trusted everyone and everything.

_That will get him killed one day,_ Erik thought bitterly.

He was aimless wandering around the house (Who was he kidding? It was a fucking _mansion._) looking for nothing in particular. They had given the young recruits a rare day off from training. Moira had chosen to sunbathe by the pool and was shortly joined by Raven. Hank was off in town gathering materials for his next experiment. And Alex and Sean where…somewhere….doing something…The thought made Erik's head hurt. _Honestly, you'd think they were ten years old,_ Erik smirked. And Charles, what of Charles? What was he doing on this day off?

Finally, Erik had something to do. His curiosity got the better of him and he went off in search of the earnest professor. A strange feeling happened in the pit of his stomach. He was rarely ever so glad to be around someone, but when Erik was around Charles, things just seemed to be different; that nothing mattered. Had Erik been someone else and had it been a different time, he would have identified it as something precariously close to _falling in love._ But since Erik did not believe in love, per se, that thought never occurred to him.

Instead, he looked around the mansion for Charles. He looked in the coal room (_because what ridiculous mansion had a coal room?)_; he looked in the conservatory (_Who plays all these instruments?)_; he looked in the art studio filled with paintings _(Seriously?)_; he even looked in Charles bedroom.

The bedroom gave him pause, as he looked around at the apparent disarray of the room. Again, that unfamiliar feeling occurred, this time it was spreading. The tips of Erik's ears glowed a bright pink as he saw Charles' dirty laundry haphazardly thrown onto a chair: underwear, socks, slacks and button down shirts decorated the brown leather chair. His bed was hastily made and there were books upon books on both side tables. Obviously, there was a rhyme and reason to the books. On the right side table, books about genetics, mutations and other dry materials were piled high, almost obscuring the lamp. On the left side table, however, were fiction books: _The Once and Future King_ by T.H. White; _Jane Eyre_ by Charlotte Bronte; Shakespeare's _Taming of the Shrew_, among others.

But it was the book, _The Once and Future King_ that piqued Erik's interest. He sat down on the messily made bed and pulled the book into his lap. He sat there reading the first few chapters engrossed in his reading that he did not hear the owner of the room returning. It was only when Charles made an amused chuckle that Erik realized where he was and where he was sitting.

"Of all the places I thought you might be sitting in my bedroom, reading a book was not one of them," Charles said in an amused tone.

"I…er…was looking for you actually," Erik said stiffly and stood up. This time it was not only the tips of his ears that was pink, but his entire face had gone crimson as well.

Charles smiled and tried to soothe his friend's embarrassment. He gestured to the book in his hand. "What do you think of it?"

"This?" Erik looked down confused. "Oh, right. I am enjoying it so far," he said and went to set it back on the nightstand.

"Oh, you can borrow it, if you wish," Charles said. He paused here a moment and looked at him thoughtfully. "Why were you looking for me?"

"Looking for you?" Erik blinked, his brain not functioning.

"Yes, you said you were looking for me?" Again that amused _fond_ look came over Charles' face.

"I wanted to know what you were doing…" Erik had never felt so flummoxed before.

"Ah, I see," was all Charles said. Then after a quiet moment where neither man spoke, Charles said, "care to join me for a drink in the library?"

"I would love to," Erik said and tucked the book under his arm, following the younger man out of his bedroom. Later in the evening, when everyone was tucked in their beds, Erik thought about Charles again. _How I would like to see his room more often, _he thought and drifted to sleep with Charles' book on his chest.

-End-

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